Another Life
by vampire baby
Summary: Buffy wonders what her life would be like if she wasn't the slayer
1. Thinking of Something New

Buffy Summers sat at the table in the library with her friends, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris. Once again, they were all discussing the previous demons that Buffy had killed. Everyone knew that those demons were no match for her and she just kept on killing them.  
  
This is because it's her destiny. She is the slayer. It's her right to protect citizens from the many vampires and demons.  
  
Willow started talking about a history assignment that was due in a few days, but Buffy chose to ignore her. She started spacing. Thinking about many things, her slayer duties, her schoolwork, her friends.  
  
Buffy's thoughts were interupted by Willow's voice. "So Buffy, are you almost finished with it?" Buffy lost her train of thought and answered her friend, "What?" Buffy looked confused at first but the features of her face softened a bit.  
  
"I was just asking if you were almost finished with your history assignment," Willow told her, "you know, the report on a certain country?" Willow waited for her to reply back.  
  
"Oh, yeah," Buffy said with a smile, "almost finished." Of course this was a lie and Buffy knew it. She didn't have much of it done. She leaned back in her chair and started thinking again. Willow continued talking about her assignment and how far she had gotten and Xander just nodded along.  
  
Giles, the school librarian, walked out from his office and started putting back the books that some of the students had returned earlier that day.  
  
As he was doing so, one student came in, looking for something. The gang got quiet and Giles came out from the many rows of books. "Can I help you with something?" Giles asked. The boy looked up and said, "Yeah, I need a book on the country, Kenya." Giles gestured for him to come up and the boy started walking up. He got what he came for and left.  
  
Xander spoke up, "Not something we see everyday." He was right. The school library was not the most popular place to hang out. So not a lot of students went there. Willow agreed to his observation. They both looked over at Buffy. She was still sitting there. Not saying a word.  
  
Xander reached over to push her a little. Startled, she cried out, "What?" Everyone looked at her, even Giles who was cataloging books. "Is something wrong, Buffy?" Willow asked her. Buffy realized that she was more quiet than usual and she answered her friend, "No, I'm just kind of tired. Didn't get much sleep last night." Buffy had stayed out late the previous night to finish slaying a nest of vamps. But this wasn't why she was so quiet. She was thinking, quite more than usual. I wonder what my life would be like if I wasn't the slayer? she thought. This was an usual thought for her. Buffy never really thought what would happen to her if she wasn't the slayer. A normal life, she thought, complete with more time to hang with friends, more time to do things with my mother, even more time for schoolwork.  
  
Buffy started to get up from her chair and said, "I think I'm going to go home. Got homework to do." She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "See ya tomorrow." She said with a smile.  
  
"Bye Buff," Xander replied back. "Bye." Willow waved to her, and Giles waved from behind his book.  
  
Buffy walked out of the library and headed for home.  
  
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Buffy started walking to the cemetery. Might as well get in some slaying time, she told herself.  
  
Tonight was slow. She only saw a couple of vampires, and staked them both. Since she had dusted the big nest of vamps last night, most of the undead people with fangs were either underground, or not interested in coming up. Since she saw no more evil activity, Buffy decided to walk home.  
  
Buffy was slowly walking down the sidewalk, listening to her own footsteps and the wind, when she heard a scream. She only thought of one thing; vampire. Buffy picked up the pace and started running to where she heard the scream. It was a woman's scream. She turned the corner and saw that a teenage girl was struggling to keep her neck away from the vampire that was trying to bite her.  
  
The vampire was an inch away from her neck when Buffy kicked him from behind. The force of her kick made him throw the girl from his grip. He snarled at Buffy and made a move towards her.  
  
"Slayer," he hissed. "Get out of here!" Buffy yelled to the girl. The girl ran away at Buffy's command. She took a step and punched the snarling vamp in the face. He fell backwards onto the ground and kicked Buffy in the legs, which made her fall as well, and got up. She hopped back up and did a roundhouse kick, which hit him straight in the stomach. He grabbed his stomach in pain for a few seconds. This gave Buffy enough time to grab a stake from her bag and stake him right in the heart. He snarled once more and exploded into a cloud of ash. Buffy blew out a long breath and noticed that the girl had gone.  
  
Buffy felt the satisfaction of her triumph and started home.  
  
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Buffy got to her house on Revello Drive and walked up the porch steps. She opened the door and called for her mother.  
  
Joyce Summers walked out from the kitchen and greeted her daughter. "Hi Buffy, have a fun night?" Buffy looked at her mother and sarcastically replied, "Yes, it was very thrilling." Her mother smiled at her and Buffy spoke up again. "So thrilling, that I'm worn out. I'm going to go to bed," Buffy slowly started up the stairs when her mom said, "Alright honey. See you tomorrow then. Sweet dreams."  
  
"Night." Buffy walked to her room and opened the door. She noticed that her bedroom light was on. She put her bag down on her chair and got undressed.  
  
Once she was changed into her pj's, Buffy crawled into her bed and reached over to turn out the lights. Once again Buffy thought of what she was thinking of before. I wonder what my life would be like if I wasn't the slayer, and fell asleep. 


	2. Confusion

Buffy woke up the next morning, feeling refreshed and rested. She glanced over at her clock and she noticed that she had enough time for a shower and breakfast. She threw her covers back, sat up, and stretched out her back. As she walked to the bathroom, she had one arm up in the air, stretching, and the other hand scratching her stomach.  
  
After Buffy got out of the shower, she put on a pair of black pants and a light blue three-quarter inch sleeve shirt. She put her long blonde hair up into a ponytail, and went down to the kitchen. She saw her mother there with a cup of coffee in her hands and looking down at the newspaper. She looked up from the paper and smiled.  
  
"Morning, Buffy," she said still smiling, "did you sleep well?"  
  
Buffy walked over the refridgerator getting the orange juice. "Yes, very well," she replied happily. She grabbed a glass from the cupboard, poured some into the glass, and took a big gulp. She turned around to put the pitcher of orange juice back into the fridge.  
  
Buffy grabbed a section of the newspaper and started looking it over. She glanced over the first page and turned it to the next. "What?" she mumbled softly and flipped it to the first page. The headline read: GROUP OF TEENAGERS FOUND MURDERED AT WEATHERLY PARK. Buffy started to read the article. 'A group of teenagers, two girls and three boys, were found murdered early this morning. Their bodies had no unusual marks except for the two puncture wounds to the neck. It was found that the blood of the victims had been drained.' Buffy stopped reading there. There was only one explanation that came to her mind: vampires.  
  
"I'm going to school, mom," she said urgently. "Alright, Buffy. Have a nice day." Buffy didn't hear her mom. She grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.  
  
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As soon as Buffy got to school, she immediatly went to the library. She burst through the doors.  
  
"Giles!" she yelled, "Giles, are you here?" She looked around, but saw no Giles. She did see a stack of books on the table that her and her friends were sitting at the previous night.  
  
"Can I help you with something?" she heard a familiar voice and turned around. She was relieved to see Giles.  
  
"Giles," she started out," there was a murder last night. Vampires attacked a group of teenagers." He gave her a strange look. "I don't know what you're talking about but if you want a book you better get it now. Class starts soon."  
  
"Giles," she cried out, "it's me, Buffy. Remember, you're my watcher, I'm the slayer. You train me and, well, watch me do my duties." He still looked confused. "You are to call me Mr. Giles, and I still don't know what you're talking about. Now I suggest you go. Class starts in a few minutes."  
  
Buffy didn't know what was going on. She knew Giles, and this wasn't Giles. She walked out of the library very confused. Maybe he has amnesia or something, she thought.  
  
Buffy was going to her first class when she saw someone giving a class mate a hard time. "Hey," she said, trying to break it up. She grabbed the big guys arm, trying to pull him away, but he wouldn't move. She grabbed him with both arms and tried again. He still wouldn't move. "I think you better leave," he told her.  
  
She didn't know what to say. Usually, she was able to make them move. She had the strength. Her slayer strength. Maybe I'm getting sick, she thought, but what would explain the Giles thing? Buffy walked to her first class, Willow will be there. She started to brighten up a bit. Maybe she can help me with this. Willow always had the answer. She was the smart one, always ready to help. That's what Buffy loved about Willow, she's kind and smart and thinks about her friends, ways to help.  
  
Buffy got to her class and noticed Willow there. She walked to where she was sitting and sat down.  
  
Buffy pulled her bag over her head and said, "Willow, you remember me, right?" Willow looked at her strangly. "Of course I remember you, Buffy. You're my best friend."  
  
Buffy instantly felt relieved. "Good," she said with a sigh, "because something strange is going on." Willow looked at her with interest. Before Buffy could continue, the bell rang and the teacher walked in, starting class. "I'll tell you later," Buffy whispered to her. Willow nodded in agreement.  
  
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After class, Buffy and Willow started down the hall to their next class. That's when Xander caught up with them.  
  
"Good morning, ladies!" Xander said with a smile, "How are my two bestest girls doing?"Xander then put his arm around Buffy's shoulder but she just shrugged it off. Willow first spoke up, "I'm good, but Buffy has a problem." He looked over at Buffy, who had a small smile but then faded away, and said, "Well, tell me the problem and maybe I can help" Xander was always the one who wanted Buffy's attention and wanted to help in any way he could.  
  
"Gee, I wish," Buffy mumbled under her breath, "Well, today I woke up just fine, feeling like my old Buffy self, and I noticed an article in the paper. An article about-" "Vampires," Willow cut in." Buffy continued. "Yes, vampires, well a vampire killing. Five teenagers murdered. Anyways, I came to school, wanting to inform Giles about the news and he didn't have a clue what I was talking about."  
  
They both had a strange, confused look on their faces. "Since when do you call the librarian Giles? To everyone he's Mr. Giles," Xander told her. Willow spoke up, "Yeah, he's very nice. I've talked to him a couple of times when I have gone to the library for some things." Buffy had no idea what was happening.  
  
"I've always called him Giles. But when I went in there, he didn't know me. He had no idea who I was." She was pouring her heart into her explanation. "He's my watcher. I'm the slayer. A watcher should know his slayer. Her name-"  
  
"Buffy," Willow broke in, "I don't know what you're talking about but you're not the slayer." Buffy took a step back from both of her friends, she looking at both of them. She was very confused and worried, and both of her eyes showed it.  
  
Buffy stood there and thought about what was happening, taking all of this in. She blinked a couple of times and said, "Well, if I'm not the slayer," she started, "then who is?" 


	3. Unbelieving

School was done for the day. Buffy exited the school building, wondering about what she should do now. Usually after school, she'd hang with her friends in the library, or just hang with her friends. But they had left her to do other things.  
  
Buffy walked slowly home. Walking past the cemetary, where she slayed. 'Not today,' she thought, 'not ever.' Buffy seemed really disapointed now that she wasn't the slayer. Now she had nothing. She was just plain old Buffy. Even though she complained about her duties and didn't want the burden of them, she hated that they were gone.  
  
She took as long as she could walking home. ''No point of going home when you really don't have much to do," Buffy mumbled to herself. Yeah she had homework, but who wants to start that early.  
  
Halfway home, Willow caught up with her. "Buffy!" Willow yelled out from behind her. Buffy stopped and turned around.  
  
"Hey Will," she said in a some-what depressed tone. Buffy looked back down to the ground where she was previously looking.  
  
Willow's smile transformed into a sad look. "What's wrong, Buffy?" Willow wondered. Buffy didn't even bother to look up.  
  
"Oh, it's just the whole 'I'm not the slayer, anymore' thing. Ya know, I've always thought that my slayer duties were a big burden on my life," Buffy started explaining how she felt, "and I always thought how my life would be different and how it might be nice, and then 'poof' it's gone. And now I feel stupid for thinking about not being the slayer."  
  
Willow had no clue about how her friend felt. "Buffy," she put her arm around Buffy's shoulder, "I know what it's like to lose something, and I know how it feels, but you have to feel better about all this. Look at the bright side of it. Now you have more time to do things with us. You have more time just to hang. Do other things." Willow noticed that her friend wasn't as down and depressed as she just was. Willow had helped her, once again. But she still wasn't one-hundred percent joyous as Buffy wanted to be. Willow spoke up again. "Didn't you want to know who the current slayer was?" She asked with an inquisitive look.  
  
Buffy thought about it and looked up, "Kind of. Why, do you know who she is?" Buffy wanted answers.  
  
"Well, yeah," Willow said, "I've been helped by her, so has Xander." Willow paused and looked around. She quieted down a bit. "Her name is Chelsea Smith. She's been the slayer ever since you first moved here."  
  
Buffy stood there thinking. "O.k. Will, thanks." Willow waited for her to say something more.  
  
"Do you want to meet her?" Willow blurted out.  
  
"No, no," Buffy stammered, "That's o.k. I'm just gonna go home now."  
  
Willow looked at her. "O.k. See you tomorrow." Willow smiled.  
  
"Bye," Buffy said with a wave and walked home.  
  
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Buffy finally got home. She walked in her house and noticed that her mother wasn't home. 'She must still be at the gallery.' Buffy didn't expect her mother home for another couple of hours.  
  
She walked into the kitchen and opened the refridgerator and grabbed a bottle of water. She twisted open the cap and took a drink. She screwed the cap back on and walked up to her room.  
  
Buffy entered her room and plopped down on the bed. She grabbed strap of her bag and pulled it off of her shoulder. She looked over at her desk. She got up to go look in it. She pulled open the middle drawer on the left. That's where she kept her slayer stuff. But not this time. Not a stake or a cross in sight. Not even one vial of holy water.  
  
She sat down on the chair that sat in front of the desk and started looking through the drawers. She pulled out a couple of small notebooks with some writing in it and put it back in the drawer. Then she noticed some pictures, and pulled them out. She started looking through them. Some were of her friends, laughing together at the park. She remembered that day and smiled, she even let out a little laugh. Buffy continued looking through the pictures and found more of her and her friends, even a couple of her and her mother. But there was one that really caught her eye. Buffy was about 7 years old. She was at the beach, playing in the sand with her father. She remembered that, too. She remembered how she wanted to go to that beach. How she waited impatiently for days just to be able to play in the sand and walk in the ocean. She felt a tear run down her cheek. She caught it before it hit her chin. She put the pictures back in her drawer and stood up. 'I supposed I should do my homework,' she thought.  
  
She grabbed her books out of her bag and sat on her bed. She opened her history notebook and attempted to write something in it. But nothing would come. She couldn't get anything to come out of her brain. No ideas. She kept thinking of her father and of her slaying duties. She couldn't think of anything else.  
  
Buffy just laid down on her bed and before she knew it, she was asleep. 


	4. Saved

Buffy woke up from a deep sleep, remembering that she never did her homework. She got up and went to the bathroom to shower. After the shower, she put on a pair of khaki pants and a red t-shirt. Buffy went downstairs to get something to eat. When she got downstairs, her mother wasn't there. She was no where in sight. Buffy grabbed an apple, her bag, and walked out the door.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------- It was a long day at school. Buffy felt exhausted. All she wanted to do was get home, do homework, watch t.v. Do something not as exhausting as this school day. Once she got home, she walked up to her room and pulled out her books. "Test tomorrow," she said to herself. She remembered the pictures in her drawer and went over to look at them. She probably looked throught them about a thousand times. She knew she had to study and do homework, but she just couldn't tear herself away. "I have to study," she firmly told herself. She sat there while an idea formed. "Must get coffee." Buffy gathered her things and left her room. She left a note for her mother telling her that she went to the Espresso Pump to study. She grabbed some money and left her house.  
  
-------------------------------------------------------- Buffy had been studying for a couple of hours before she noticed it was dark out. 'I should get home,' she thought. She put her books in her bag and got up to throw her empty coffee cup away. Buffy started to walk home. She walked slowly. She still felt exhausted even though she had some caffeine in her. Then she realized that she should pick up the pace a little. Vampires are out. She's not the slayer. Buffy knew that being out, at night, in Sunnydale, was dangerous. It was always dangerous. But at least before she could defend herself. She turned the corner to get to Revello Drive when something jumped out at her. 'Oh no!' she shouted in her mind. She scrambled to get up but the vampire just pushed her down even more. She screamed. Buffy almost got out of his grips when he pulled her down and lowered his mouth to her neck.  
  
Then it hit her. 'I'm gonna die!' This thought kept running through her mind. She screamed again. The vampire was so close to biting her, she could feel the sharp tips of his fang prick her neck. Buffy let out another scream and instantly the vampire was lifted off of her and thrown onto the grass that lay next to her. She looked up and saw a girl. 'The Slayer!' she shouted in her mind. This girl was good because in a matter of minutes, she dusted the vamp. Buffy was shocked, even though she had done this before. The girl gave Buffy her hand to help her up. Buffy dusted herself off when the current slayer spoke to her. "Are you alright?" Buffy looked at her and nodded. "Good," she answered, "Be careful next time," and she started to walk away. "You're the slayer," Buffy blurted out. The girl turned around to look at her. She was shocked. "How do you know that?" Slayers were supposed to be kept secret. No one was to know about them. "Well," Buffy started, "This will sound strange but, I once was a slayer," the slayer stared at her, thinking she was crazy, "and now I'm not. I don't know how it happened but I'm not anymore." The slayer still thought she was crazy. Buffy held out her hand. "Buffy Summers." The slayer stuck out her hand to shake Buffy's. "Chelsea Smith," she replied back, "current slayer." Buffy smiled. "Well," Buffy knew she should get home, "it was nice meeting you. Bye" Chelsea spoke back to her. "Bye." And Buffy ran home. She was very close to dying. She walked in the door and noticed her mother still wasn't home. Buffy went upstairs to her room, got changed, and fell asleep. 


	5. The Reason Why

Buffy woke up to the birds outside. They were happy and chirping. 'Not like me,' she thought to herself. She walked over to her desk and pulled open the drawers where the pictures of her friends and her mother and father were. Buffy was amazed at what she saw in her drawer. Her stakes. Her crosses. Vials of holy water. "What?" she cried out. She was surprised and shocked. "Why would I have tools of the slayer if I wasn't the slayer?" she asked herself. Just then, a white light appeared in the corner of her room. She didn't notice it until it spoke. "Buffy Summers," it said in a peaceful voice. "Yes," Buffy answered. "I come to you with a message from the 'Powers That Be'." Buffy stood there with her arms crossed. "And just who are you?" she asked, giving an attitude. "I am a messenger for the 'Powers'." "Really," Buffy had an angry sound in her voice, "well then can you tell me what has happened to me?" she wanted answers. And she wanted them now. "What was that?" "It was a dream," the messenger told her, " the 'Powers' heard your thoughts and decided to put a stop to your curiousity. So they granted you the chance to experience it through a dream." Buffy was getting the answers she wanted and deserved. "Well- wait," she stopped herself, "how long have I been asleep for?" "Approximately two and a half days," the messenger said. "O.k. Well, when did I fall asleep?" The messenger bobbed up and down and then said, "Friday night." Buffy looked around. "Then, that means it's sunday afternoon." "Correct," the messenger replied. Buffy had trouble swallowing this all. 'A dream?' she thought. The messenger hovered for a second, then said, "I will leave you now. Good bye." The white light got smaller until it was gone. Buffy stood there, blinked a couple of times, then sat down on her bed. Buffy jumped when she heard the telephone ring. She put her hand to her chest and answered the phone. It was Willow. "Hey Will," Buffy said. "Hey Buffy, where were you?" she asked, "I called you a couple of times this weekend but you didn't answer. What happened?" Buffy let out a breath. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Willow had lived through a alot of weird events and even and apocalypse. "Try me." Buffy proceeded to tell her the whole story. THE END 


End file.
